TBI investigating fatal shooting by Memphis police officer

TBI spokesman Josh DeVine said the unidentified officer fired at least twice at the suspect after the suspect made threatening comments and reached for his waistband. Investigators have not recovered a weapon from the suspect.
Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal

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April 21, 2018 - Memphis police officers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are on the scene of an officer involved shooting on Summer Avenue near Berclair. The suspect was transported to Regional One Health where he was pronounced deceased. (Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting death of a suspect by a Memphis police officer early Saturday, the second Saturday in a row a Memphis officer has been involved in an on-duty shooting.

TBI spokesman Josh DeVine said the unidentified officer fired at least two shots at the suspect after the suspect made a threatening statement and reached for his waist.

TBI said Saturday afternoon that authorities had located a firearm consistent with the weapon identified in two overnight shootings believed linked the slain suspect. The agency also identified the deceased as Terrence Carlton, 25.

"Authorities have also developed information leading to Carlton as the suspect in those (overnight) incidents, which remain under investigation by the Memphis Police Department," the TBI statement said.

MPD said the same in a Saturday afternoon tweet.

UPDATE: the deceased suspect has been identified as the suspect responsible for two early morning shootings that occurred on Berclair Road near Tutwiler and Powell. https://t.co/YxW62LSj2A

Police Saturday morning had a section in the 4300 block of Summer cordoned off for several hours as agents gathered evidence.

DeVine, speaking at the scene Saturday morning, outlined the series of events leading to the fatal shooting.

Officers responded about 12:30 a.m. to a shooting call in the 800 block of Berclair. They found an unidentified man who had been shot. He was transported to the hospital in noncritical condition.

About a half-hour later, she said police received another shooting call in the 700 block of Berclair. Another unidentified man had been shot there, and he was transported to the hospital in noncritical condition as well.

A broadcast went out to all officers with a description of the suspect in the shootings, and a man matching the description was found in the area of Summer and Berclair.

"The officer (involved in the shooting) attempted to stop the subject and ordered him to show his hands," DeVine said. "Reportedly, the subject did not comply and attempted to leave the area.

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April 21, 2018 - Memphis police officers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are on the scene of an officer involved shooting on Summer Avenue near Berclair. The suspect was transported to Regional One Health where he was pronounced deceased. (Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

"He then stumbled and fell to the ground. As he attempted to get up, the subject simultaneously reached for his waist and made a statement threatening the officer's life, resulting in the officer firing his service weapon at least twice, striking the subject, who later died at Regional One Medical Center."

Neither the officer who fired the shots nor any other officers were injured, DeVine said.

Before the firearm was located, DeVine was careful to clarify that investigators were not saying the suspect was unarmed.

"That's not what I'm saying," DeVine said. "We've not recovered a weapon believed to belong to the suspect at this point. However, this is an individual that was wanted by law enforcement in connection to several overnight incidents."

He said findings from evidence and interviews gathered by TBI agents and forensic scientists will be forwarded to Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich's office for review.

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April 21, 2018 - Memphis police officers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are on the scene of an officer involved shooting on Summer Avenue near Berclair. The suspect was transported to Regional One Health where he was pronounced deceased. (Photo: Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal, Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

Last Saturday, a robbery suspect was shot during a struggle with a probationary MPD officer.

Feroldo Griffin, 27, was charged with aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of employment of a weapon during the commission of a dangerous felony.

MPD tweeted Saturday that the officer involved in last Saturday's incident, Malcolm Collins, 22, has completed debriefing on the case. Collins has been employed by MPD since March 2017.